RUSTON, La. -
Louisiana Tech head football coach Skip Holtz announced the hiring of Kurt Hester as the athletic department’s Head Strength and Conditioning Coach and Justin Cox as the new Director of Football Operations.

Hester joins the Louisiana Tech Family after serving as a National Director of Training for the D1 Sports Training Center in Nashville, Tenn. since 2008. He worked with training several professional athletes from leagues such as the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Soccer (MLB), National Hockey League (NHL) and the NFL Combine classes. One NFL player notable to Tech fans that Hester has worked with is former Bulldog quarterback Luke McCown.

“Kurt has phenomenal respect across the industry,” Holtz said. “We are thrilled to have him join the Louisiana Tech Family. His background, experience and knowledge is a huge asset and brings him instant credibility with the University’s student-athletes. He is going to have a huge impact in our athletic department and I am looking forward to him working with all of our student-athletes.”

Concurrent to his tenure at D1 Sports Training, Hester also worked as the Director of Training at the Manning Passing Academy as he designed a training program for over 1,300 high school athletes and delivered a specific training seminar for high school and college coaches.

From 1997-2008, Hester was the owner and Director of Performance at HS2 Athletic Performance in Mandeville. He developed and mentored area coaches for college and professional coaching careers with several going on to BCS-level schools and NFL teams. Over 500 athletes he worked with received collegiate scholarships during that time as he oversaw the development of over 400 junior and senior high students per day.

Hester was an assistant strength coach at LSU from 1995-98, working with the speed development program for then-football coach Gerry Dinardo and worked primarily with the LSU baseball team as it won two national championships under legendary coach Skip Bertman. Hester also worked with the men’s basketball, women’s soccer and women’s golf programs as well as with the varsity cheerleaders.

He graduated from Tulane University in 1995 with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in exercise physiology. He also served as a graduate strength coach at Tulane for two years.

Hester has certifications as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) from the National Strength & Conditioning Association and also has his Speed Agility & Conditioning certification as well as his Level 1 certification from the United States Weightlifting Association.

Cox was named the Director of Football Operations after a three-month tenure as a volunteer assistant coach at Louisiana Tech under Skip Holtz. During that brief time, he helped in film input and daily practice organization along with assisting in the daily operations during the spring season, tasks he will continue with in his new position.

“After serving in a volunteer role for the last three months, I am excited that Justin will now have a full-time position on our staff,” Holtz said. “I have been very impressed with his organization, knowledge and efficiency in that short time period. He is the type of person that is going to do an outstanding job in this position and I expect him to have a seamless transition into that role having already been around the program.”

Before joining the Louisiana Tech Family, Cox served as an assistant coach at Lake Howell (Fla.) High School, where he was the wide receivers coach in 2012 and the running backs coach and special teams coordinator in 2011.

Cox also served as a defensive assistant at Colonial (Fla.) High School in Orlando, Fla. while he was pursuing a Master’s Degree in sport and fitness administration at Central Florida, which he received in 2011. He received his Bachelor’s of Science degree from Coastal Carolina in 2007.

Both appointments are pending approval from the Board of Supervisors for the University of Louisiana System.

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